


happy birthday, Joker

by corvus_ace



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Coffee Dad Sakura Sojiro, Fluff, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Memories, NO Swearing, Persona 5 Spoilers, Sakura Sojiro Adopts Persona 5 Protagonist, Spoilers, but not by very much, guys it's literally just birthday fluff, happy birthday p5 protag, happy tears, lots of fluff, no beta we die like okumura, no depression, no violence, phantom thief party, phantom thief themed gifts, post-maruki, sae for one (1) paragraph and that's it, that's all it is, this is incredibly self-indulgent but who cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29314278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvus_ace/pseuds/corvus_ace
Summary: Kurusu Akira turns eighteen a week after defeating Maruki. He insists he doesn’t need gifts or a party, but the Thieves decide otherwise.(This story proceeds under the assumption that Akira is let out of jail sometime before February 10th, which is his canon birthday.)
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira & Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira & Niijima Sae, Kurusu Akira & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Kurusu Akira & Sakura Sojiro, Persona 5 Protagonist & Niijima Sae, Persona 5 Protagonist & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Persona 5 Protagonist & Sakura Sojiro
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	happy birthday, Joker

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday to our beloved P5 protagonist!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy the work! I'm posting this a day early so I can keep working on the next chapter of my Persona 5 Soulmates AU, but I did make sure this work was as good as I could make it before moving on!
> 
> Let me know what you think :D

“Happy birthday!” a familiar voice called, accompanied by a _pop._

Akira blinked his eyes open to see a grinning Futaba standing by his bed, holding a now-empty party popper. She had also donned a red and black party hat that clashed spectacularly with her bright orange hair. Akira noted in the back of his mind that he and Morgana were now both covered in confetti, but he found that he didn’t mind. With a smile of his own, Akira climbed out of bed and pulled Futaba into a brief but tight hug.

“Thanks, Futaba,” he said.

Morgana stood up from his position at the foot of the bed and stretched, then glared at Futaba and said, “Hey, you could have warned me you were going to do that.”

“Quit complaining, it’s only a little confetti! Come on, Akira, there’s something waiting for you downstairs!”

Akira picked up Morgana (who, surprisingly enough, didn’t protest) and followed Futaba downstairs, where he was promptly greeted with an explosion of noise as the other Phantom Thieves set off their own party poppers and shouted, “Happy birthday, Akira!”

“Thanks, you guys,” Akira said, setting Morgana down on the counter. “But I told you already, you guys don’t need to throw a party or anything, much less give me anything. It’s just a birthday.”

“Yeah, eff that,” Ryuji said. “It’s _your_ birthday, man. That makes it important. And of course we were gonna give you stuff. You’re our friend.”

“You’re our leader, too,” Sumire said. “You’ve always been there for us when we need you. Now it’s our turn to support you, senpai!”

“Besides, you helped throw parties for the rest of us,” Makoto pointed out. “It’s only natural that we’d do the same for you.”

“Hold on,” Akira said, scanning the café. “Where’s Boss?”

“We asked him to keep the café closed for a little while so we could party,” Ann said. “He said he had other business to take care of, anyway. He left you something on the counter, though.”

Akira, curiosity getting the better of him, went into the kitchen to find a neatly wrapped package sitting next to the register. The tag was labeled “To Akira, from Sojiro” in black pen. Carefully unwrapping the item, he found himself holding a jar of his favorite coffee blend.

“Ooh,” Haru said, interested. She too was rather fond of the blend, although she tended to prefer darker roasts than Akira. “That’s very nice of him!”

Akira finally took in the whole scene. The entire café was decked out in the Phantom Thieves’ colors, and a calling card-style banner that read “Happy 18th Birthday, Joker” was hanging near the door. Every Thief had a red and black party hat, and one of the café tables held eight gifts, wrapped with the same color scheme. Futaba had her cell phone out and was taking photos of the scene.

“Go ahead and sit down,” Makoto said. “Yusuke, could you get the cake out of the fridge?”

“The _what?”_ Akira said, startled. Futaba took the time during his moment of distraction to temporarily lower her phone and shove Akira into a booth; Morgana jumped onto the table and pulled one of the gifts closer to Akira.

“Open mine first!” he said, tail raised high with excitement.

Akira thought about protesting the entire situation, but one look at the Thieves’ expressions told him it wasn’t a good idea. With a sigh and a small smile of fondness at his beloved friends’ antics, Akira obeyed his not-a-cat’s command. Inside the wrapping, he found a custom coffee mug with the Phantom Thieves’ logo on the side and a cat paw print hand-drawn on the bottom.

“I felt really bad about accidentally breaking your favorite coffee mug two months ago, even though you didn’t get mad at me or anything,” Morgana said sheepishly. “So Futaba helped me place the order for this one, so you could drink your coffee in style! She helped me with the paw print on the bottom, too.”

“I love it,” Akira said, scratching Morgana under the chin. “Thanks, Mona.”

“Mine next,” Ann said, pushing a second gift forward.

Akira raised an eyebrow. “Is there an actual order?”

Ann shrugged. “Not really.”

A few moments later, Akira discovered that Ann’s gift was a new red and black phone case (Akira’s old case had been stained with coffee the first time Sojiro had let him brew anything, and he’d never gotten around to replacing it).

“I’m beginning to see a theme here,” Akira said with a slight laugh.

Futaba grinned cheekily. “That may have been my fault. I told them it would be fun to make your birthday Phantom Thief-themed, and even Mako-chan decided to roll with it.”

“It was fun to organize!” Haru said as she slid a third gift towards Akira. “Besides, there’s so much Phantom Thief merchandise out there right now that no one will question why you have so much, even if _your_ stuff is custom-made for a real Thief!”

“So what you’re saying is that the Thieves are so popular that me suddenly owning a bunch of Thieves merch won’t risk my identity at all?” Akira said, opening Haru’s gift.

“Well, we’re _technically_ not Phantom Thieves anymore, so there’s not much to risk,” Makoto said.

That realization turned out to be a good thing, because Haru’s gift was a custom-made black jacket with red designs and the Phantom Thief logo on the back. It was a very nice jacket, and Akira pulled it on immediately.

“You guys are too nice,” Akira said.

Haru smiled but said nothing.

Makoto’s gift was two parts: a Phantom Thief-themed notebook, and an accompanying Phantom Thief fountain pen. Upon closer inspection, the pen had the words “Take Your Heart” on it.

“Where did you guys even _get_ all this?” Akira said, amazed. “It had to have been expensive, too....”

“We may not be Phantom Thieves anymore,” Makoto said, “but we still have the yen from all those Palace infiltrations and Mementos trips. Haru has some contacts that make custom gifts, so we got in touch with them and ordered the stuff the day after defeating Maruki. We put a rush order on it, too, so it would get here in time for your birthday.”

Akira privately wondered how he’d gotten lucky enough to have such wonderful friends.

Yusuke’s gift, unsurprisingly, was a painting. The scene he’d chosen to capture was the moment Akira had summoned Satanael to defeat Yaldabaoth, high above Shibuya. In the painting, Akira was standing tall in his Metaverse outfit, the great figure of the demon lord looming behind him, and the pair faced off against the malevolent god of control with their heads held high and their weapons at the ready. Akira felt that the painting looked even better than the actual scene had looked, but when he voiced this to Yusuke, the artist quickly shut it down.

“You did not witness the true glory of that moment,” Yusuke said. “It was truly magnificent to watch. I fear that any attempt I could make to recreate the scene would not do it justice, but I am glad that you believe I have captured it well enough.”

“It’s wonderful, Yusuke,” Akira reassured him.

Futaba’s gift was an epic Thief headset and a link to a downloadable private playlist that, as she happily informed him, contained several songs from his favorite artists (Shoji Meguro and Lyn Inaizumi, to be specific), plus some cool remixes. She’d compiled the playlist herself and was extremely proud of it; Akira made a mental note to listen to it as soon as possible.

Ryuji’s gift was a pair of red and black running shoes and a Phantom Thief-themed watch; when Akira turned the watch over, he found that the back of the watch had the kanji for “Joker” engraved in it. Ryuji then showed him his own matching watch, with the kanji for “Skull” engraved in the back.

“You mentioned a while back that you were lookin’ for a watch, so you could time your runs without needing to carry your phone,” Ryuji said.

“It’s great,” Akira said. “We match.”

“I can’t believe you pulled Akira into running,” Ann said, shaking her head.

“I admit I’d thought he’d be more into martial arts than track,” Haru said.

“It became a habit after our first Palace and I realized I actually liked it,” Akira said.

“Now for mine, senpai,” Sumire said with a smile, sliding the last gift across the table.

Sumire’s gift was a photo album, and Akira found himself smiling as he flipped through the many photos of the group.

“I asked the others for some good photos to add,” Sumire said. “But the last one’s my favorite.”

Akira turned to the last photo and had to resist the temptation to start crying.

It was a photo of the Phantom Thieves---all _ten_ of them, wrapped up in their winter clothes. Even Morgana had a little scarf that Ann had convinced him to wear. Akira recognized the moment---it had been taken shortly after securing the route to Maruki’s Treasure. Goro hated photos and was against the idea of taking one with the Thieves of all people, but Sumire had insisted that she wanted something to remember the achievement by, so Akira had gone up to the first stranger he saw and asked them to take a photo of their group on his phone. The group was all smiling---even Goro, despite his earlier protests, had a small smile of his own, sandwiched between Sumire and Akira.

“Thank you, Sumire,” Akira said. “It’s amazing.”

Sumire pulled him into a standing position and enveloped him in a hug; the other Thieves, also smiling, joined the embrace.

“Happy birthday, senpai,” Sumire said.

“Thanks for doing this, everyone,” Akira said as the Thieves finally released him. “It means a lot to me.”

“They were all too happy to plan this for you, kid,” Sojiro said, walking into the café. Surprisingly enough, he was followed by Niijima Sae, who was holding a black folder with Akira’s full name on it. “Did you find what I left for you?”

“I did. Thanks for that, by the way,” Akira said. “It seems this day is full of surprises.”

“Actually, we have another surprise for you today, Kurusu-kun,” Sae said, handing him the folder. “I know your parents basically cut you off when you were put on probation, and while they never officially disowned you, they didn’t take good care of you, either. So Sakura-san and I got in touch with your parents, and...well. We need you to sign this.”

Akira opened the folder and found his eyes watering at the paper inside.

_Kurusu Takeshi and Kurusu Noriko hereby relinquish all guardianship duties of Kurusu Akira to Sakura Sojiro, effective immediately._

It was already signed by his birth parents, and by Sojiro.

“Sign it! Sign it! Sign it!” Futaba chanted, the other Thieves joining in. “Sign it! Sign it!”

Laughing, Akira rubbed the tears out of his eyes, picked up his new Phantom Thief pen, and signed it.

★ ☆ ★

There was one more gift.

After Akira signed the document that officially made him a part of the Sakura family, Sumire came over to him and murmured, “There’s something else waiting for you upstairs. I put it up there while you were opening some of the earlier gifts.”

Taking the hint, Akira went back up into the Leblanc attic.

On the table that held the Mona bag, something else was now sitting on the surface---two things, technically. One was a small package wrapped in red; the other was a folded piece of paper. Akira picked up the paper first and unfolded it; as he did so, something fell out, landing face-up on the table---a photo of Akira, Goro, and Sumire, taken during a three-way billiards game. Akira didn’t recall Goro asking anybody to take the photo, but he knew it had to have been taken on Goro’s phone; since Goro had taken a lot of photos of food for his blog, he had a very high-quality phone camera, and Akira knew for a fact that neither he nor Sumire had phone cameras that could produce such a good photo with so little lighting.

The paper turned out to be a letter, written in simple black ink. He didn’t have to read the signature to know who it was from---he’d recognize that neat handwriting anywhere.

_Hello again, Kurusu._

_I’m writing this on the second of February. You delivered the calling card a few hours ago and we’ll defeat Maruki on the third of February. If everything goes according to plan, by the time you read this, the true reality will have been restored, and I will be gone._

_I’ve instructed_ ~~_Yoshizawa-san_~~ _Sumire to give this to you on February tenth, which is your eighteenth birthday. Before you ask, no, I didn’t find that in your files. Futaba-san told me. I’m sorry I can’t be there, but this is for the best. If you’re reading this letter, reality has been restored, and that’s enough for me._

_As far as I know, you and Sumire are the only two who know what will happen to me when reality is restored. You because Maruki told you; Sumire because I told her. When you get a chance, please tell the other Thieves that I’m sorry for the things I did to them. They didn’t deserve all that pain. And if you can, tell them that I don’t regret my sacrifice in the engine room. It was the first thing I’d done right in two and a half years. I’m at peace with my decision and I hope the Thieves are at peace with it too._

_Along with this letter, there’s an item I’ve asked Sumire to deliver on your birthday. It’s yours now. I should’ve given it back a long time ago. You’ve won the game, anyway._

_Thank you for fighting for my justice, Kurusu._

_Akira._

_Happy birthday._

_-Akechi Goro_

Akira blinked away more tears and set down the letter, then gently unwrapped the item.

It was a black king chess piece---the very piece that was missing from the chess set on Leblanc’s counter.

Akira rubbed a thumb over the smooth surface of the chess piece, then walked over to the shelves next to his bed and placed it at eye level, right next to a black leather glove. He put the photo and the letter on the glove’s other side and stepped back, giving the four items a long look.

_\---“Ah, you noticed such a small detail? I’m impressed. Yes, I’m ambidextrous, but I consider my left hand to be my dominant hand.”_

_“You don’t need to hold back against me.”_

_“Oh, really? We’ll see about that. If you can beat me while I’m using my non-dominant hand, then I’ll face you with everything I have.”---_

_\---“It’s an old tradition in the West that when someone wishes to have a duel, they throw their glove to their desired opponent. Should the opponent accept the glove, they accept the duel as well. You won’t turn me down, will you?”_

_“Of course not. I accept.”_

_“Then don’t forget---you are the one person to whom I refuse to lose again. Rest assured, you are my rival, and one day I will defeat you.”---_

_\---“Your black king piece?”_

_“You win so often that it might as well be yours. Hold on to it for me. You can give it back when I win the game.”_

_“I see. It’s a mark of your word, then. Very well, I’ll keep it for now. I look forward to our rematch.”---_

_\---“Answer me. What do you intend to do?”_

_“We’ll fight Maruki as planned. We’ll take back the true reality.”_

_“Good. Then I anticipate tomorrow’s battle. Make sure you’re prepared. After all you’ve been through, you can’t lose now.”---_

“We’ll never forget you, Goro,” Akira whispered. “And you’ll always be one of us.”

As he rejoined the other Thieves downstairs, he could have sworn he heard a voice whisper back.

_Thank you, Akira. And happy birthday._

**Author's Note:**

> akira: oh yeah it's my birthday today. whatever
> 
> the phantom thieves: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY THAT MEANS IT'S PARTY TIME LET'S GOOOOOO


End file.
